Sunday, January 29, 2012

A Georgian farmer has proudly showed off the latest addition to his livestock - a hermaphrodite lamb with six legs.

The tiny brown and white lamb can be seen nursing from its mother and wandering happily around its stable in Velistsikhe, Georgia.

The lamb appears to be quite tame as it is hoisted up and around by farmer Abadzhanov Albert, who beams from ear to ear throughout a video. He said: "I have been asking the other shepherds, but none of them remember such case.

"There were three-legged lambs, one-eyed, but not six-legged, bisexual one. The lamb eats well, but moves with difficulty."

Saturday, January 28, 2012

As nearly anyone who has adopted a dog or cat from a shelter can attest, there’s something special about a rescued pet; it’s as if the animal senses he’s been given a second chance at life. That’s certainly the case with Juno, a Belgian Malinois who was rescued from a shelter just days before she was to be euthanized. But since coming to live with her family in Alcoa, Tenn., Juno has taken on the role of rescuer to four-year-old Lucas Hembree.

Lucas suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, an inherited, metabolic disease caused by the absence or malfunctioning of an enzyme needed to break down long sugar molecules. As the disease progresses, children lose the ability to speak, walk and eat. The disease also causes severe neurological damage that leads to aggressive behavior, hyperactivity and seizures.

“The most catastrophic thing parents hear when they learn their child has this disease is that there’s no cure or treatment available,” says Lucas’ father, Chester. Unless that changes, Lucas isn’t expected to live past the age of 15 and may be in a vegetative state by the time he is eight. Realizing that every moment is extra precious, Chester and his wife, Jennifer, want their son to experience as much as he can while he still has the capacity to enjoy it.

So when the disease started to take a toll on Lucas’ joints, Chester looked into getting a service dog to keep Lucas steady when he walked. “I was told that a service dog would cost at least $15,000, and that Lucas wasn’t a good candidate because of his deteriorating abilities and his behavior,” Chester says. “I refused to accept this answer.”

A combination of prayer and persistence led Chester to Juno. “I came across a posting about her on a rescue group’s website,” he says. “I had the feeling in my gut that I had to go see this dog.”

The whole family made the two-hour trip to meet Juno, who was being held at an east Tennessee shelter. “She was emaciated, and was days away from being euthanized,” Chester says. “She had been surrendered to the shelter because her previous owners didn’t understand the Belgian Malinois.”

Chester Hembree training Juno to bark on command. He said Juno was "phenomenal" and "exceeded all expectations" during the training. She picked everything up very quickly. Fortunately, Chester did. He’d gotten to know and love the breed while working as a law enforcement officer years earlier.

“I used to help with the training of police K-9s, and our dogs were Belgian Malinoises,” he says. “I loved their desire to work and their ‘never quit’ attitude.” In addition to being a popular choice for police dogs, the breed is often used in combat. In fact, it’s believed that the dog that helped Navy SEALs take down Osama bin Laden was a Belgian Malinois. But while the breed has proven its prowess on patrol and in combat, Chester needed to be sure Juno would be a suitable service dog for his little boy. “I put her on a loose leash and she walked with me and never pulled,” Chester says. “Next came the Lucas test. They took to each other immediately, like kindred spirits.”

The Hembrees brought Juno home and showered her with love and affection.

“I wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to adjust to the family before I started the formal training,” Chester says. Yet, from the beginning there seemed to be something instinctive about their relationship. One day, Chester noticed Juno circling Lucas while he was in his wheelchair. “She was whining and nudging him with her nose,” Chester says. “I checked his oxygen levels and they were very low.” After giving him oxygen, Lucas returned to normal and Juno greeted him with licks and affection.

“That’s when I knew she had the ability to pick up on his neurological changes,” Chester says. “Now she alerts us when Lucas is about to have a seizure or if his oxygen levels drop really low. She has saved him several times."

Juno has become a literal shoulder for Lucas to lean on when walking, and a calming influence when he’s agitated. And while Chester makes sure that Juno gets time off, he says that it’s hard to get Juno to leave Lucas’ side. “You don’t see one without the other close by,” he says. “It really feels like it was meant to be.”

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Did you know that L&M Nana was named after the female dog "Nana" in the "SNOW DOGS" movie? I didn't know that until recently. She also has several other nicknames such as Nana-Banana and Beautiful. The nickname that she will leap out of her dog bed is "Treat" or "Cookie. Come to think of it, all of the girls have that same response!

Nan was the last dog that I took photos in the snow. By this time, the light had disappeared and it was not very good for photos. They all came out dark so I did some touch up but they are not my best.

It was snowing quite heavily so it was hard to focus.

Nan give me her all when she works. I love her for it.

The innocent sheep enjoying the hay.

Nan comes up hard and strong, with her teeth clacking so the sheep really respond to that.

I love working Nan. She keeps me on my toes. She wears her heart on her sleeve for me. She is talented and quick to learn. Plus she has a super goofy side to her when off the stock. She loves to play and jump about. We have come a long way in the 4.5 years that I have owned her. Ironically, she is the first dog to bark if a stranger comes to the house. When I was recovering from the heart surgery, she stepped into the role of protector. She is very brave on chasing the bunnies off the front lawn. After she chases the bunnies off, she comes back to me, eyes happy, tailed wagging and with a big grin, glad that she protected me so well. I praise her and she is ecstatic.

She takes her role as my Open dog very seriously and I enjoy running her. She is like a fast, souped up race car so I have to apply the brakes and maneuver with finesse. Sometimes I over steer and it is painfully obviously. Now once, I get her on the line to drive, I keep my mouth shut so I don't over steer and it has paid off.

I enjoyed working her in the snow and after it was done, she got a raw beef bones for her efforts. She was quite pleased with that and I was quite pleased with her big heart.

Panning shot along a row of men, one woman and a young boy, they all have their Collie dogs sitting obediantly at their sides. M/S of a group of men; some sit, others stand, a couple of Collie dogs sit in front - they look like they are posing for a group photograph. C/U of a little boy holding the leads of two Terrier-type dogs.

L/S of a Collie dog herding a small flock of sheep around a field. M/S of a crowd of spectators in a field, in the foreground a farmer holds the collar of a dog; he loosens his grip and the dog races off. Various shots of the dog crawling close to the ground, chasing the sheep around a field, nearby the farmer gives instructions and points his walking stick at the dog.

C/Us of people watching competition, some look through binoculars and eat or smoke pipes while they watch. C/U of sheep dog watching from stand with men. General view of small crowd in stand.

C/U of sheepdog on field. M/Ss of dogs with their masters, sniffing out each other (the dogs, not the masters). Several shots of men and their sheep dogs in action, with men whistling and dogs encouraging sheep into pens. Good studies of sheep dogs in action during the trials, although most shots are quite light and L/S.

C/U as Ivor Jones pats his two dogs. L/S as master and dog encourage sheep into pen - successful master pats the dog. L/S as the trials continue.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Welcome to Stella. She is the newest addition to the farm. She is 3/4 Anatolian and 1/4 Great Pyr. Her parents are LGD on a goat and sheep farm. She is six months old. We are VERY impressed on how fast she bonded with her sheep as well that she sticks close to them.

She really has an active interest in what is happening in her pasture. She goes on full alert mode quickly.

She has a kind face and a very sweet personality.

Keeping an eye on the Border Collie that is working her sheep.

Still worried.

Nan is like, "Don't bug me, kid. I have work to do." Stella was checking Nan out as she was working her flock

I really like her. She is very attentive to her sheep and is found usually in the middle of them. The flock took to her rather quickly and they all snuggled with each other. She saw a Bald Eagle and kept a close eye on him. Then saw a coyote in the field next to her flock and went between her sheep and the coyote. She still is young but has all the good qualities that I like. We need a couple of LGD to protect our sheep. Kodi is 11.5 years old and retired and Glock is taking his place. Stella rounds out the LGD team and we are very thankful to Josh Farmer for this exception dog. He still has two of her sisters available and If I didn't have Kodi and Glock, I would snatch one of her sisters. If you are interested in one, please email me.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

I was working Maid and heard a screaming banshee and then realized it was Tess. She was running up and down the fence line, shrieking and then tried to jump the gate. Finally, I relented and took her in for some winter herding. First thing she did was an out trot, then brought the sheep down at a a dead run, not listening to my downs. It felt like old times. She finally stopped when she realized that I was close enough to re-enforce it! This really reminded me of the old times.

She had to wear her winter coat. She doesn't care for it and made ugly faces when I first put it on.She probably doesn't really need it as she is no longer the lean, mean fighting machine but the food enhanced babe!

The old and wise face. Hard to believe she is 13.5 years old.

She got to drive. Amazingly, she took every command, aside from her downs, which meant to her, barely slow down, then speed up again! She was having fun so I let her. It was good to see her smile again!

Whew, let's get the ewes moving now.

She got out of the out-trot to a full run.

Look, she stopped.

I just like this photos....it touches me.

One last run before quitting time. However, she had to work on the second sessions later in the afternoon, and after it was all done, she settled on the couch for a quick afternoon snooze. It was a great winter day in the snow for the old dog.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Well, we got hit with with a heavy snow storm (for us) and had over 8 inches. That was that bad in itself but the ice storm that followed on the heels was the troublemaker. It rained and it was two inches thick. Trees snapped like toothpicks. Our willow tree fell down and took out the pond pasture fence and missed the hay shed. Numerous other trees snapped and were all over our driveway, like broken soldiers after a battle. The little hill out of our driveway was coated with a thick sheet of ice as the creek over flowed the ban and poured down the driveway making it a slick ice rink.

Over 300,000 people lost power and we lost power on Thursday night and we are still out of power. They say it should be back on next week. We hooked up the generator (we have two) and can watch TV, check our email, have the fridge and freezer still on. For heat, the propane fireplace is working overtime. We are lucky we have heat and generator power. Our propane stove works so we can have hot meals. We are out of water also.

I do remember one outage when the propane fireplace did not work and we had no generator. It was quite awful, cold and just miserable. The next week, Getty got a big generator. I also have my smaller generator from the trailer as back up. We are lucky in that regards. We are good with food and certainly haven't missed a meal. The roads to town has been a nightmare and it finally is drivable. Of course, Getty "got volunteered" to take the truck so the horses in the other field would get fed. He can drive in the snow, while I flounder like a beached whale. He also cut up the downed trees so the road is drivable.

The power is out in town and they were told next week. The town is a small town with five restaurants, one gas station, one grocery store and hardware storm. The restaurants are using generators to run so they are offering the basics for food. Getty and his band were suppose to play at Pete's but had to cancel,

The snow is hard and crusty and your foot breaks through and you have to tug to get it out. The sheep are huddled in the barn and the LGDs are curled in little balls of fur. The Border Collie run merrily and bark in happiness. I toss them snowballs and they are having a grand time. Emmy, the older Arab, got her new Christmas blanket and is quite happy., She normally manages to remove her blanket with 12 hours but she must be cold as she is not making any effort to rub it off. She is happy to have it on, I believe. even the standoffish llamas welcome me as I tote them their grain and alfalfa. Stella, the new LGD pup, has settled in quite well with her flock and is accepted as part of them. A few of the older ewes lay next to her and I remember when they were lambs and Kodi nurtured them and let them sleep on his back.

﻿﻿

Emmy and her new blanket. She is 27 years old and needs a little help.

After the snow melts, we are expecting major flooding. We can handle that as we have a canoe, fishing poles and life vests. You have to find some humor in something!

People have asked how we are faring and aside from power being out and not able to take a shower for two days, we are fine. we will have to fix fence, cut more trees but so far, no major damage. If anything else changes, I will post it. Other folks are less fortunate than we are and I hope their lives get back to normal soon.

Tess, Nan, Maid and Rainey are really enjoying ﻿the cuddle time on the couch and bed. Having them on the bed sure keeps it warmer and Rainey snuggles next to me so I am warm. She also claims part of the pillow for her head so I guess that is a fair trade. Maid keeps my feet warm when I am on the couch so no frosty toes for me Again, I am going to credit her tow-warming training to Scott. I didn't know Maid was to talented.

﻿﻿NOTE: As of noon, the power came back on. We are experiencing severe windstorms now.

Friday, January 20, 2012

I saw a leopard going after my sheep and I had to take photos. Then I discovered it was just Rainey wearing a leopard coat. I was so relieved! We have had cougars going after our lambs this year so when I spied this "Leopard" I was really worried.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Well it snowed and then snowed some more. I took this time to take some pixs of the dogs in the snow. The lighting was horrible so this is the best that I could do. We had fun working the sheep. Tess, Nan, Rainey and Maid got two turns. The youg pups will get a shot at it soon as I was froze by the time I got done with the trial dogs.

Maid waiting...I love the bird dog pose.

Go....and so she did!

Working and I have trying to keep her off the butts of the sheep, hence only one pix of her and the sheep up close. She did great on listenning.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Over one year old intact LGD male. Working with sheep. Glock is a good guardian against eagles, coyotes and cougars. He is Maremma/Tatra and /Spanish Mastiff mix. He is leash trained and is gentle. He is up to date on shots.

He was born in December 2009. He comes from Paul and Kathy Lewis in Oregon. Pickup in Carnation. Will not ship. $1000

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A New Zealand farm lobby group says sheep shearing has the potential to become an Olympic demonstration sport. Just don't count on seeing it at London next summer or Rio in 2016.

The "time has come to elevate shearing's sporting status to the ultimate world stage," the New Zealand Federated Farmers said in a statement Monday, adding that the world's top shearers are "athletes who take it to another level."

While shearing is a sport, its chances of becoming an Olympic event - even a demonstration one - are slim.

The Olympic sports program is decided a minimum of six years in advance of a scheduled games through a complicated process that includes strict criteria including global participation by male and female athletes. For example, baseball and softball were cut from the Olympic program for 2012 and 2016 because they aren't played in enough countries.

New Zealand produces some of the world's best shearers and its national championship, the Golden Shears, receives substantial media coverage in the country. Other shearing countries include Ireland and Australia. New Zealand will host the world shearing championships in March, and Federated Farmers Meat and Fiber chairwoman Jeannette Maxwell said it was an appropriate time for the sport to press for wider international recognition.

"One way would be to make shearing a demonstration sport at a Commonwealth Games, if not, the Olympics itself," she said. Maxwell said men's and women's world record-holders, Ivan Scott of Ireland and Kerri-Jo Te Huia of New Zealand, showed the athleticism necessary to reach the top of world shearing.

"Ivan regained his world eight-hour solo lamb title by shearing 749 lambs, seven more than the previous world record," she said.

"Kerri-Jo smashed the women's eight-hour solo lamb shearing world record by shearing 507 lambs, 37 more than the previous record."

To be accepted on the Olympic program, a sport first must be recognized by the International Olympic Committee by being widely practiced around the world and administered by an international federation that ensures that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter.

Dance sport, squash and 10-pin bowling have lobbied unsuccessfully for many years to be accepted as Olympic sports. Maxwell said New Zealand's government sports funding agency Sparc recognized shearing as a sport and Australia had previously pressed for its inclusion in the Commonwealth Games.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

After shearing his final lamb at 5pm yesterday, Ivan Scott sat back, cracked open a beer, and took his first sip as the freshly-crowned world record holder.

The New Zealand-based Irish shearing champion bettered the world eight-hour solo lamb shearing record of 742 that Cam Ferguson set in a King Country woolshed on January 10 last year.

The scene was Opepe Station, a touch southeast of Taupo, on State Highway 5.

The 30-year-old was given the all-clear after a trial shear comfortably exceeded the minimum 0.9kg of wool per lamb.

Scott, who previously held the record at 736 shorn in December 2008, faced four, two-hour runs, with two half-hour smoke breaks and an hour for lunch.

The shearing rate was rapid – one lamb every 38.8 seconds or quicker to beat Ferguson's count. Three Kiwi judges and one from Australia were on hand to ensure each lamb was shorn to standard.

Judge John Fagan said Scott looked "very fit" as he stepped into the pen.

"He was very well prepared which you have to be with this sort of effort. It has been measured years ago as the equivalent of two back-to-back marathons."

Five of Scott's lambs weren't up to standard and were discounted, yet he still pipped the record.

"He took it down to the wire – he did it the hard way."

Scott came to New Zealand 10 years ago from the Irish county of Donegal and has been shearing fulltime since then, mostly near Christchurch.

For the past four years he's also been shearing the summer season in Rotorua.

Scott said yesterday morning leading up to that first cut was "tense" and the pressure didn't let up.

Only after his final strike, when the crowd erupted, did it ease. "She was a pretty big moment," he said last night. "It was pretty emotional.

"The old body feels pretty good. The arms are a bit sore, but it feels good considering." Scott celebrated his win with a couple of pints and a meal in Taupo.

Two more record attempts are coming up this month.

Today, 29-year-old Kerry-Jo Te Huia, of Te Kuiti, attempts the women's eight-hour lambs record of 470 and on January 18 brother Stacey Te Huia, 33, will attempt a two-stand ewes record for nine hours with Waikato shearer Sam Welch. Te Huia and Welch will be targeting a record of 1335 set 16 years ago by Southland shearers Darin Forde (688) and Wayne Ingram (647).

Sunday, January 8, 2012

I went through my usual trial routine. Get up, stumble about, get coffee, let dogs, out, find truck, find key, warm up truck, get dogs and drive. Hopefully in the right direction. Cheryl had asked me to be the Course Director again so that mean I had to be awake and at the handler’s meeting. They had reversed the course and the drive was very difficult. For Open, you had three lambs, who were fleet of foot. They bolted if your dog was pushy and since I have two pushy dogs, the runs were speedy. Nan was first, cast out nice and as she came do for the lift, they broke for their round pen where the other lambs were held. It was not the exhaust but another pen. She recouped and got them back online at the last part of the fetch. They were very fast and she had to slow way back down but by the time she got a hold of them, it was the last leg of the drive. She was too concerned about the lambs, was leaning on them and would over flank as a result. I see some homework here. She got the lambs settled quite nicely and had a nice single and then a nice pen. The offline fetch and drive cost us dearly but regardless, I will keep my pushy dogs. By the first seven dogs, five had retired and only two got scores so it was tough!

Maid was second and cast out very deep and came in nice. The fetch was off but she worked well, although a but fast. We fussed at the turn but lined them up nice, and had a nice first line. When I asked her to stop and then flank, she blew me off and then the sheep ran up the hill. I tried to stop her but she flanked and started to bring the sheep back. We had a point where she could have done the crossdrive but she didn’t down, so I ran up to make her mind me. She saw me and said, “oh shit” and dropped like a rock. As we brought the sheep back, she took every flank and down and settled the stock. I know what my homework will be. We did work on this today at the farm and she was spot on. She did blow me off once and I chased her off the sheep and it made an point) Considering I have had her for two month and we are getting used to each other, I think it will be a few more months before we are in sync with each other. She is a great dog to run and it is a matter of being on the same page.

Sava was the first of my PN dog. She had one of the best outruns and lift. The fetch was offline and she didn’t want to tuck in at the shoulder to hold the pressure until after the panels. We had a nice first leg, a bit of bobble on the crossdrive, a pull thru and a nice pen. She got third place for her run and each time we get better and better. My homework is having her hold the pressure. She is going to be one nice dog. She has it all and it is coming out each time we work. She wears her heart on her sleeve and tries for you. I really like her a lot.

Rainey was the last and she was eager. She spied the sheep in the exhaust and I told her to leave it and look up the field. She did and cast out nice and was tight but square at the top, Nice controlled lift with two people pinching the sheep. I had worked on her the prior week on coming in fast and deep when a person is holding the sheep and not sticking like she has been doing at prior trials. The fetch was fast and a little offline. She pushed the sheep hard on the drive and on first turn, the sheep snuck into a gully. I needed her to do an away and she wanted to do a come-bye but she finally did as I asked and then started the crossdrive. She really leaned hard on the sheep and I tried to slow her down. It really didn’t work and she was powered up. Go figure, I guess putting the edge on the drive is paying off. I asked her to flanked at the second panel and she did a wonderful sweeping flank and did a pull through. She marched them hard and fast to the pen and as I was closing it, the time went off. In spite of her score, it was a success for me as she was able to lift without sticking and me whistling her on and was pushing hard on the drive. Part of what is making her try harder is that she is very jealous of Maid. Maid is jealous of her and when I work one before the other, the second dog will work their session on fire. So I will work Maid first as she doesn’t need to be on fire since she has a lot of fire and then work Rainey. That is my homework.

All in all, the sheep were super light and my dogs were too pushy and I didn’t hold them back far enough. So, my homework is to get better on that and my dog’s homework is to rate and slow down a bit more. That’s ok as I love the lineup that I have and need to adjust better. Nan needs not to be so edgy, Maid needs to trust me, Save needs to hold pressure and Rainey still needs more push. I need to make quicker decisions. What I did well with Sava and Rain was to have them start the right line and trust them to hold it. I adjust a little as needed but they pretty much held it proper. Get them behind the sheep, drive and they will hold the line. Don’t over command. With Rainey, I saw it made her really lean into the sheep.

It was a long day and I was happy to get home. The girls all curled up to me on the bed, as I read, happy that they did well. I need to work more on light sheep and this week, I will go work the 100 sheep up the road. I will cut out 10 or so and work them. They will run or turn on the dog and the dog will have to think. They are not dog broke so we will have to work as a tea, They will run like gazelle so the dog will have to ease up and I will have be more aware of my timing.

This is a journey and I am having the time of my life. I am not letting any negative energy pull me down. Life is too short to be bother by that. Enjoy your dogs and good friend and hope for a good run.